


Shooting Straight

by queen_scribbles



Series: Straight Up Truth [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:02:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: When you lie for a living, trust becomes very important





	Shooting Straight

 

_Breathe. In and out._  
  
No time, no **time**.  
  
Steady. Breathe in, and out, and **now**.   
  
The rifle kicked against her shoulder as a purplish-blue laser bolt surged from the barrel. It streaked over Theron's shoulder and missed Vector's head by--carefully calculated--centimeters before connecting with the droid they'd been fighting. It dropped, Theron flinched, and Vector didn't.

Jaaide chuckled to herself. _Guess which one is actually **used** to fighting alongside me..._   
  
Still, Theron looked impressed rather than alarmed when he turned to make sure she was catching up. "Nice shot."  
  
She shrugged at the compliment. "You should see someone who's actually made a discipline out of this. I have colleagues who could've made that shot in their sleep." A frown creased her brow at his stiff posture. He was standing like everything hurt, which it probably did. "How bad...?"  
  
He tried to wave off her concern, but just wound up making himself wince. "I've had worse. Not by much, but I'll live."  
  
Jaaide huffed an exasperated sigh through her nose and unfastened a kolto probe from her belt, flicking the activation switch as she tossed it in his direction. "You're lucky I'm at least as stubborn as you."  
  
Theron snorted and shot her an amused smirk. "Is that so?"  
  
She smirked back. "Absolutely. You-"  
  
"We hate to interrupt," Vector spoke up, "but unless you wish to fight the reinforcements as well, we should keep moving."  
  
He had a point. They'd cleared out this section of the Revanite compound on their way in to rescue Theron, but the alarm had been raised, so it probably wouldn't stay that way for long.  
  
"You're right," Jaaide nodded. "Let's go. We cut a decent path out, but who knows how long it will stay that way." She hesitated. "And once we're out of the compound, we should probably split up to get back to Lana."  
  
"Right... Lana." There was a note of _something_ in Theron's voice that Jaaide couldn't have missed if she wanted to. He knew. And while Lana's inaction wasn't exactly a betrayal, it was close enough to feel like one.  
  
"For whatever it's worth, I don't agree with what she did. Being able to trust your team is vitally important. While I can see where she's coming from, I would have acted differently."  
  
"That's... worth a lot, actually," Theron muttered as they started toward the entrance. "Why someone like you works for the Empire is beyond me..."  
  
 _If only you knew..._ Jaaide actually had to bite her tongue to keep the words from slipping out. No one was supposed to know beyond her and Kothe. She hadn't even told Vector. She spent the rest of the journey back to the Rishii village with her mouth clamped firmly shut, even after they'd split up. He was supposed to be the enemy, they were both spies; why did she want to spill the single biggest secret she had?  
  
 _Because you want him to trust you, and think that as long as **he** thinks you're Imperial that won't happen._   
  
Stars, she hated it when the little voice in her head was right.  
  
*********  
  
She wasn't the least bit surprised when the circumstances of Theron being captured didn't come up in the course of conversation. Lana briefly expressed relief he was alright--relatively speaking; Jaaide was fairly certain there were at least a few cracked ribs to go with his split lip and the beginnings of a black eye--and they were moving on to a discussion about how to deal with Revan's signal jammer. With both the Republic and Imperial fleets en route, there wasn't much in the way of time.  
  
 _Later. We can have it out later. Once the threat of complete annihilation isn't hanging over our heads._    
  
And with that delightfully cheery thought running through her head, Jaaide was off to an island full of Revanites and who knew what else.  
  
*********  
  
Theron hadn't been exaggerating when he described the obstacles between Jaaide and the Revanite jammer as _the usual impossible nightmare_ ; Sith, Jedi, a Wookiee with an assault cannon, even a scout walker squad. But none of it was any worse than what the galaxy had thrown at them before, and she and Vector had gotten very good at defeating the undefeatable. Everything fell, even if some took awhile.  
  
Jaaide massaged a bruised shoulder and shook away a headache as she skirted the destroyed walker and stepped up to the console. She clicked on her comms as her fingers raced over the controls. "I'm in."  
  
"Nice work," Theron's voice crackled back, cutting through the residual static. "Good to hear your voice; must've been a tough slog."  
  
Jaaide smirked and bit back a flirtatious reply. Fun as it would be to try and fluster him again, there wasn't time. "I'll regale you when I get back. For now, you get through to the Grandmaster, and I'll work on Darth Marr."  
  
"Sounds good to me. Oh, and I hit paydirt; found a whole list of the Revanite traitors on both sides."  
  
"That'll be helpful," she acknowledged as the list uploaded. It didn't take much more finagling to cut through the jamming and get in touch with Darth Marr. He sounded surprised to hear her hailing him from _Rishi_ , but he couldn't argue when she uploaded Theron's list to him. The Imperial ships immediately powered down their guns. It was more than a little disorienting that Marr trusted the word of one person, one spy, one liar for a living _that_ much.   
  
Of course, he did think she was on _his_ side.  
  
Even as she finished explaining things to the Sith leader, another holo-image flickered to life next to Marr's. Jedi Grandmaster Satele Shan, who proved far more level-headed than many of the Jedi Jaaide had met in the past. They agreed to meet on neutral ground; namely Lana and Theron's safehouse in Raider's Cove, and everyone disconnected.   
  
"Well, we better get started back if we don't want to miss all the fun," Jaaide commented to Vector as she stepped back from the console.  
  
"We are with you, as always," he replied, falling in step behind her as they returned to the safehouse.  
  
**********  
  
Despite their best efforts, and the notable lack of enemies on the return trip, it was still a long slog back. Which meant rather than being there for the entire discussion, Jaaide and Vector walked in as Marr and Satele agreed to a truce. A temporary one, one about as stable as Makeb's surface, but a truce all the same. Marr was even pragmatic enough about it to share the truth about the Emperor; his incorporeal state and that Revan planned to return him to physical form in order to destroy him once and for all. That he was too powerful and Revan would fail.  
  
"So, we need to stop Revan, quickly." Jaaide brushed hair back from her face and raised an eyebrow at Darth Marr.  
  
"Yes," he nodded. "Before he unleashes an evil even he cannot fathom on the galaxy."  
  
"To that end, my agent here has discovered that Revan believes the last spark of the Sith Emperor is on the fourth moon of Yavin," Satele interjected, gesturing briefly toward Theron. "That's where he is now." She faced Jaaide, expression far less guarded--almost friendly--than Jaaide would have expected from a Jedi dealing with an enemy spy. "Darth Marr and I plan to lead a joint strike force to end his plan. I hope you'll join us."   
  
"As do I, agent," Marr added. "For the Empire, and for the galaxy itself."  
  
"Of course," Jaaide assured them. "We won't be far behind."  
  
"Then we'll see you there," Satele said with a pleasant smile. She and Marr both took their leave and headed for their ships.   
  
The tension left in their wake was almost palpable.  
  
"Well, that went surprisingly well, I think," C2-D4 piped up, far too much optimism in its voice, as Jakarro rumbled something along the lines of [ _Quiet, droid_.]   
  
"Yeah, nice to know the Republic and Empire can work together without stabbing each other in the back," Theron commented sourly, gaze still on the doorway their 'guests' had vanished through.  
  
 _And here we go_ , Jaaide braced herself for the overdue conversation, nodding to Vector that he could leave; help Kaliyo get the ship prepped. No need for him to get caught in the brewing verbal crossfire.  
  
"It was the right thing to do; allowing your capture," Lana snapped back defensively. "We would never have learned what we needed to know in time otherwise."  
  
"I'm not arguing _that_ part," Theron shot back, crossing his arms and turning to glare at the Sith. "I'm arguing the _not cluing me in that that was the plan_ part.  For the record, if you'd told me, I would have played along, but as it is... Where's the trust? Did it go wandering off somewhere along the way? Or was it never even there to start with?"  
  
"With all that's going on around us, we have to be able to trust each other," Jaaide seconded. In her line of work, trust was hard to come by, and even harder to keep, making it--in her eyes--more precious than iso-5. "You owe Theron an apology."  
  
Something flickered across Lana face before she frowned at Jaaide. "At the risk of sounding egotistical, I will not apologize for being right."  
  
 _That's because you've never had the rug yanked out from under your feet like we have_. The words stayed in her head as Jaaide met the Sith's gaze with equal steel in her own eyes. "Do it."  
  
Lana sighed heavily and turned to look Theron in the eye. "I do recognize that I betrayed your trust, and for that I am sorry."  
  
[ _Enough of this]_ Jakarro growled, pushing impatiently to his feet. [ _We need to be focusing on the Revanites._ ]  
  
"He does have a point," Lana agreed, rising from her seat as well. "We should be getting underway."  
  
"You two go ahead, I want to talk to Theron for a minute," Jaaide hastily interjected.   
  
The same something from a moment ago flashed through Lana's eyes again, but she nodded. "Very well. I suppose I'll... prepare to leave, then."  
  
[ _You can help me prep my ship_ ] Jakarro rumbled. _[The droid's worthless!_ ]  
  
"I don't believe that's-- I am not worthless!" C2-D4 protested indignantly. "Not entirely!"  
  
Jakarro and Lana both ignored it as they exited the safehouse, headed for the Wookiee's ship.  
  
****************  
  
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Theron asked, leaning back against the table once it was just the two of them.  
  
Jaaide smirked mischievously. "Perhaps I just wanted an excuse to get you alone."  
  
"Flattering as that thought may be, give me _some_ credit. That's not your reason," he shook his head. "Or, at least, not your only reason."  
  
"Mmm, smart man," she chuckled. "You caught me. I wanted to make sure you were alright. That one kolto probe couldn't've helped much."  
  
"It helped enough," he assured her. "And if I feel like I need more patching up I'll take care of it on the flight to Yavin 4."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"I'm sure," Theron nodded. "I may not be as good at it as you, but I can get by." He let out a short, sarcastic laugh." "Wouldn't do to keep Grandmaster Satele waiting."  
  
Jaaide frowned. "You-" And then, shamefully late, it clicked. "Ah."  
  
He shot her a bemused look. "Gotta love the way she calls me 'her agent'. As if it's sheer coincidence we have the same last name. Still-" he ran one hand through his hair, leaving it even more ruffled than usual-"It's not as if she raised me herself, or we ever did any mother-son stuff."  
  
"You could say something to her," she suggested. "When we get to Yavin."  
  
"Eh," Theron shrugged. "I'm not really _bothered_ by it so much as amused. And at least I know who my parents are. That's not usually the case with Jedi offspring." He chuckled as a thought occurred to him. "You know something funny?"  
  
"What?" Jaaide raised an eyebrow, feeling her lips curve in a wry smile to match his.  
  
He shifted, pushing away from the table. "I've lost track of how many Imperial agents I've conned with phony backstories over the years, and yet here I am, telling you the straight-up truth." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's like I... _want_ to trust you, even though I know I probably shouldn't. I mean, I'm the enemy, or will be again once this is over and done."  
  
"Actually-" The word escaped before Jaaide could stop it, even as she bit off the rest of the sentence. **_No one_ ,** _Jaaide. No one is supposed to know besides you and Kothe._  
  
"Actually, what?" Theron probed, raising an eyebrow.  
  
 _Actually, I defected. Actually, I work for the Republic now. Actually, I'm on your side. Actually, you **can** trust me._ She couldn't  _say_ any of them, which was infuriating. She was used to maintaining a cover even when it got hard, but Theron had been straight with her and she wanted to be straight with _him_ in return. "Actually, I don't see why we can't enjoy it while it lasts."  
  
There was enough doubt in Theron's eyes she could tell he knew she was hiding something. But that disappeared quickly enough when she closed the distance between them and kissed him.  
  
It wasn't a long kiss, but it wasn't exactly quick, either. Long enough for her fingers to curl around the edges of his jacket, for his hands to settle oh-so-briefly on her hips, but not so long as to leave them _entirely_ breathless when they parted.  
  
Still, Jaaide had to smirk when Theron blinked several times before commenting glibly, "And they told me if I ever kissed an Imp I'd spontaneously implode..."  
  
"Maybe by the time we reach Yavin 4," Jaaide teased, mostly to combat the building urge for a second round.  
  
Theron chuckled. "Now, there's a hint if I ever heard one. But you're right; we need to get underway." He moved toward the door.  
  
"Theron-" She snagged his arm as he passed her. _Do **not** tell him. Not without clearance._   
  
"Hm?" He looked at her expectantly.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she substituted.  
  
Theron offered a lopsided grin. "What, me cooped up in a ship with Lana and Jakarro for just shy of a week? What could you  _possibly_ be worried about in that scenario?"  
  
"Play nice," Jaaide admonished, giggling in spite of herself.  
  
"Cross my heart," Theron promised, slipping free of her grasp and giving her hand a squeeze as he left. "See you on Yavin 4."  
  
Jaaide wasn't far behind him, heading for her ship with face set in grim determination. Aside from the big-picture goal of stopping Revan, there were some other things for her to take care of on the flight out to Yavin.  
  
Namely, she needed to get ahold of Ardun Kothe. There was a conversation she wanted to have with him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I usually try not to directly copy game dialogue for my fics but a) this is older, when it still happened occasionally and b) the straight up truth conversation was extremely important to their relationship, so I felt I needed to keep it as-is


End file.
